Hello, I am feeling at my wits end because I have already spent $5500 to fix this issue at the dealer and just 2 days ago the whine is back. Any advice you can provide would be greatly helpful. This is my first time posting on a forum.
I have a 2013 Mazda CX-5 Touring AWD with 71k miles on it I purchased it the Seattle area and now live in Florida as May. This is important because the noise did not start until I arrived in Florida this year (summer heat). In 2015, I reported a soft thumping sound that could only be heard when coasting with the windows down. After a few trips to the dealer the rear differential was replaced under warranty. Two other repairs made that in my opinion should not be needed with miles so low were a new water pump and airbag sensors in the passenger seat (this one was $1200).
After driving this car across country with no issues at all and putting about 7000 miles we started to notice a high pitch whine coming from the front of the car, right about where the dashboard is. It would only occur above 60mph and would happen after being warmed up for no more than 20 min of driving at that speed. The noise would come and go and no other activity would increase it or decrease it. I tried no A/C, braking, swerving etc. Multiple passengers who rode with me could hear it.
Knowing that I needed an oil change after all this driving I took it to a dealer in Orlando for this oil change and to investigate the noise in August 2018. They came back with two issues: transfer case is leaking and the noise is coming from the rear diff. They heard this noise while the car was on the rack. So, I paid for both to be fixed totaling about $4k. My 100k/72 month warranty just expired in April. Before they realized that the warranty was expired the warranty company did expect the issue on site and would have approved the repairs if the warranty was in place. At this point I have no reason to not to trust their assessment but to find it odd that the rear diff is being replaced again. Because I am now in Florida and most CX-5 are not AWD this dealer doesn't see a lot of rear diffs.
A week later for the first time since the repairs are made I am driving on the freeway beyond 60mph and the whine is back. So loud, it stops my sister-in-law from talking and she says "that doesn't sound very good". We had only been driving for about 20 min and most likely was driving closer to 70mph. The next day I take it back to the dealer to complain and I do a ride along with the same technician. I was able to replicate it again after 10-20 of driving and he does admit that is not the same noise he heard while the car was on the rack. After a few days they determined it was bearing in the transmission causing the noise when it shifts to the last gear (I might have that detail not quite right). They were great with providing me a discount and replaced the transmission for $1500.
Since then we driven it from Orlando to Boca Raton (3 hours of freeway driving) with no issues. However, just 3 days ago we heard the noise again in the same location and the same sound at the same high speeds. This drive was in the heat of the day (90 degrees) and we heard it about 10 min into driving.
So at this point I am not sure what to do. I need to drive this car starting a new job next month with a 30-40 commute on the freeway.
My questions are:
Do I have a lemon? And who I contact about this?
How do I know that the dealer or any mechanic is not pulling one on me?
Any idea what this could be? I have read through this post and one person fix was the Axel seal failure. Would this have been resealed when the rear diff was replaced?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I have a 2013 Mazda CX-5 Touring AWD with 71k miles on it I purchased it the Seattle area and now live in Florida as May. This is important because the noise did not start until I arrived in Florida this year (summer heat). In 2015, I reported a soft thumping sound that could only be heard when coasting with the windows down. After a few trips to the dealer the rear differential was replaced under warranty. Two other repairs made that in my opinion should not be needed with miles so low were a new water pump and airbag sensors in the passenger seat (this one was $1200).
After driving this car across country with no issues at all and putting about 7000 miles we started to notice a high pitch whine coming from the front of the car, right about where the dashboard is. It would only occur above 60mph and would happen after being warmed up for no more than 20 min of driving at that speed. The noise would come and go and no other activity would increase it or decrease it. I tried no A/C, braking, swerving etc. Multiple passengers who rode with me could hear it.
Knowing that I needed an oil change after all this driving I took it to a dealer in Orlando for this oil change and to investigate the noise in August 2018. They came back with two issues: transfer case is leaking and the noise is coming from the rear diff. They heard this noise while the car was on the rack. So, I paid for both to be fixed totaling about $4k. My 100k/72 month warranty just expired in April. Before they realized that the warranty was expired the warranty company did expect the issue on site and would have approved the repairs if the warranty was in place. At this point I have no reason to not to trust their assessment but to find it odd that the rear diff is being replaced again. Because I am now in Florida and most CX-5 are not AWD this dealer doesn't see a lot of rear diffs.
A week later for the first time since the repairs are made I am driving on the freeway beyond 60mph and the whine is back. So loud, it stops my sister-in-law from talking and she says "that doesn't sound very good". We had only been driving for about 20 min and most likely was driving closer to 70mph. The next day I take it back to the dealer to complain and I do a ride along with the same technician. I was able to replicate it again after 10-20 of driving and he does admit that is not the same noise he heard while the car was on the rack. After a few days they determined it was bearing in the transmission causing the noise when it shifts to the last gear (I might have that detail not quite right). They were great with providing me a discount and replaced the transmission for $1500.
Since then we driven it from Orlando to Boca Raton (3 hours of freeway driving) with no issues. However, just 3 days ago we heard the noise again in the same location and the same sound at the same high speeds. This drive was in the heat of the day (90 degrees) and we heard it about 10 min into driving.
So at this point I am not sure what to do. I need to drive this car starting a new job next month with a 30-40 commute on the freeway.
My questions are:
Do I have a lemon? And who I contact about this?
How do I know that the dealer or any mechanic is not pulling one on me?
Any idea what this could be? I have read through this post and one person fix was the Axel seal failure. Would this have been resealed when the rear diff was replaced?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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